Selections from One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets

Date

21 Mar 2019, 7:45 PM - 8:15 PM

Genre

World Music

Details

Loosely translated as “One Hundred People, One Poem [each]”, the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu is a Japanese anthology of one hundred poems by one hundred poets, collated and edited by Fujiwara no Teika in the 13th century. Many will find this familiar through Uta-garuta, a popular card game based on the hundred poems that is traditionally played on New Year’s Day.

In this performance, Namiko Sakai from HIBIKIYA and two musicians from KotoKottoN collaborate to present audiences a performance that fuses some of these hundred poems with the koto, a traditional Japanese stringed instrument.

About KotoKottoN

Started in 2009 by Saeiko Kitai, KotoKottoN is a koto ensemble based in the National University of Singapore (NUS). Practices take place weekly, even during university holidays. Kitai is a Japanese language teacher at the Centre for Language Studies in NUS, and a qualified teacher from the Sawai Koto School (沢井箏曲院).

About Namiko Sakai

Namiko Sakai is the founder and managing director of HIBIKIYA. She actively promotes Japanese culture through exposure to Japanese instruments, including the ever-popular taiko drums. Sakai also performs kamishibai, a form of visual and participatory storytelling.